


hear it in the silence

by Jicklet



Series: The Royal Disaster [3]
Category: The Royal Romance (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, those two tags are the summary of each chapter really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:07:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27113081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jicklet/pseuds/Jicklet
Summary: Before Liam proposes, Riley has something she needs to tell him.(A fix for Book 2 Chapter 16, into the beginning of 17. )Chapter 1: Telling LiamChapter 2: Telling Maxwell.
Relationships: Liam & Main Character (The Royal Romance), Maxwell Beaumont/Main Character (The Royal Romance)
Series: The Royal Disaster [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1058270
Comments: 10
Kudos: 19





	1. Liam.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't handle the secondhand embarrassment of being forced to wait until Liam is literally down on one knee to tell him there's someone else, so I finally got around to rewriting it.  
> Also featuring more backstory for Riley. I've been trying to write her so it makes sense for her to have waited this long to come clean. 
> 
> Title is from "You Are In Love" by Tswift.
> 
> Good luck, Riley.

Riley is waiting alone on a particular New York street.

Despite Bertrand's best efforts, she'd ended up going back to her room and dressing in something she already owned.

She's in her green skater dress, trusty leather jacket on top. It's not at all something worthy of the Cordonian court. It's a dress bought by just another artist in New York, bought even though she didn't need it because when she tried it on and looked in the mirror, the person staring back looked cute and sexy. It was to wear if she ever went dancing again, though it had become something she threw on for weekend errands when she just felt like looking good.

(The night she _did_ go dancing, she lost the nerve to wear it.)

Being back here has been strange in so many ways. She fits in on these streets… and yet she doesn't. New York isn't home anymore.

But she wants to remember who she was when this all started. One more "waitress-for-now" trying to get through today and tomorrow and _just one more day_ until she found her voice again.

And then that group had stumbled in by chance, pulling her into their orbit and making her feel more alive than she had in a year. (More than that, even, if she was being honest with herself. Which she's trying to do more these days, so let's go ahead and say it.)

She'd felt the _spark_ again that night. A _feeling_. Colors and texture, the feel of brush on canvas… She could almost see it, feel it.

But it hadn't been quite enough. Not enough to chase the ghosts away and get her to try again.

And then Maxwell showed up the next day with his ridiculous plan.

It was insane, right? To pick up and leave, run all the way to a different country, _continent?_ And then what? If she didn't win, what would she come back to?

On that note… What would she even be leaving behind?

Her job she'd dump in a heartbeat. She had no family left to speak of. She wasn't on any lease; she'd been overstaying her welcome in what was technically a larger than average closet in her friend's apartment. Nadia was great, her only real friend at the time (aside from Daniel from work. That was a bond iron forged in the fire of the battle they fought together, despite the little else they had in common). But Nadia had recently gotten some perfect boyfriend, and when Riley brought up leaving, it was all the excuse she needed to move in with him. When you knew you knew, it seemed.

And hell, maybe that's what love was. Chasing that spark.

(It wasn't. But she'd relearn that lesson eventually.)

So, today. Standing on a corner across from her old bar, rocking back and forth on the heels of the lace up stomping boots she'd dragged across Europe despite the weight and space in her luggage.

She'd arrived early, wanting a moment by herself. To ground herself, to breathe in the familiar garbage flavored air, to turn the words she needs to say over and over again in her head.

"Hello Riley."

She turns. "Liam."

He was stunningly handsome that day they met; now that she actually knows him, she thinks he is both more and less so. She's less dazzled than she was, that someone with those cheekbones and twinkly eyes could be so focused on her. But now she knows the heart behind it, the strength and _goodness_ that is Liam.

She thinks, it feels like the difference between a prince and a king.

"You look lovely," he says, soft and fond. His poise cracks the smallest bit as he takes in her outfit, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "Is that the same jacket you wore that night?"

Her hands in the pockets, she flaps it open and closed and says, "I thought it fit the theme." She realizes that while she's been wearing it in Cordonia, it's always been when things have been casual. Not all that often around him.

She doesn't know how to start this.

He's looking back towards the bar now. Hopefully he doesn't want to go inside; she already went the other day with Drake and it would be awkward to pop back in _again._ But he's all dressed up, so probably not.

"It feels like a lifetime ago that I walked through those doors."

"And into my life." She smiles at the memory. It remains a very good one. "Turned everything upside down, you boys did."

He laughs, a little sadly. "We do have a habit of that, don't we?"

"Liam?" She meets his eyes. "I'm grateful. All this, has been… a whirlwind, but if I could go back? I'd absolutely do it again."

His tension melts into joy, but he otherwise doesn't comment, so she continues. "I was stuck, here. I'd gone through some things, and… I wasn't coming out on the other side very well, if I can be honest with you."

His expression is sympathetic, but knowing. "I never wanted to pry, but I did notice… You did seem a little bit sad, in the beginning."

"Oh," she says. She wonders how obvious it was.

"But it’s changed now,” he assures her. “Despite all we’ve put you through, you seem freer, somehow, than when you arrived."

“Huh," she considers. It's strange, considering all the eyes on her, the expectations, her reputation… and yet. "You know, you’re right. Meeting you all that night changed everything for me. I'm not saying I wouldn't do _some_ things differently," she says dryly, and they both chuckle. "But… New York will always be a part of me, but Cordonia feels like home now. All of you," she looks up at him. "Hana, Drake, Maxwell, you… even Bertrand, feel like home."

"Riley… I'm so happy to hear you say that." He moves like he’s going to take her hand, but she crosses her arms, pretending she didn’t see.

Here comes the hard part. "But Liam, I…" She looks down as she presses a hand into her heart, an old habit. "I need to tell you something."

His face creases with concern. "What is it?"

"I don't want to be presumptuous, but… I think I know why you asked me out here tonight." Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him go carefully still. "Liam, I… I can't marry you."

It falls like lead into the space between them.

"…I see." is all he says.

"I'm, I'm sorry," she continues, catching herself twisting her fingers and hearing Bertrand's reprimand for her manners.

_Bertrand, oh man._

She shoves the thought away. One man's disappointed expectations at a time.

"I will admit… that's not exactly what I was hoping to hear tonight," Liam says, crossing his arms. "You don't have to answer, but… can I ask why?"

"Our friendship has meant so much to me. But, I know how important marrying for love is to you, and I… I can't give you that." She grips her elbows, shivering even though it isn't that cold.

Liam looks shattered, which matches well with how she feels like she's swallowed glass.

"I see," he says again. He takes a deep breath, and she pretends not to notice the slight shudder to it. "Does this mean… Will you still be staying in Cordonia?"

"If that's all right," she smiles wanly. "If you're going to banish me though, I mean. No one would blame you."

He laughs, seemingly in spite of himself. "Riley, no. Regardless of what is or isn't between us… As you said, Cordonia is your home, and that'll be so for as long as you want."

She's surprised to find just how much of a relief that is. But it isn't over yet. "Before you commit to that… There's something else."

His gaze is shrewd. "...There's _someone_ else, isn't there?"

She nods. "It's Maxwell."

And despite everything, her heart swells to say it loud.

Though, the feeling dissolves at his response. "...Maxwell?" Liam asks, taking a step back. He's clearly gobsmacked by her answer. "You're in love with… _Maxwell?"_

Her eyes narrow. _Maybe now you all will stop underestimating him at every turn._

Liam doesn't see, his own eyes staring blankly into the distance. Likely, there are some old memories he's replaying with new context.

She sighs.

"Please don't be upset with him, he thinks the world of you. He never would have…" Liam is still not looking at her. "Neither of us meant for this to happen. It just…"

"... did." he nods, looking at his shoes.

"If it helps at all," she mutters dryly, "you may never see either of us alive again once Bertrand finds out."

He does laugh at that, small and hollow but it’s there. "He has gotten a little, ah, _intense_ of late, hasn't he."

Riley raises her eyebrows as high as they'll go. _Understatement._

His lips twitch into what was almost a smile. "I will remind Bertrand there is to be no murder in my court. Now, not to deliver you into danger, but… can I walk you back to the hotel?"

"Oh!" Thank goodness, she was waiting for him to end this. The longing she feels to be back in her hotel room with this conversation over with is immense, and despite the return of his kingly pokerface, she suspects he feels the same. "Ah, yes. Thank you. But…" She blinks at him. "Did you really walk here? I mean, _I_ did, but..." She gestures. "...King."

He shrugs. "It's only a few blocks. I like getting to spend some time on the streets of a city." Then he points to a shadowy alcove she hadn't paid much attention to. "Bastien is right over there, anyway."

The outline of his bodyguard suddenly resolves itself out of the shadows. "Oh! Jesus," she gasps, startled. "...Did he hear all this?"

"I don't have a wire or anything, if that's what you mean. But it’s likely he’s able to tell from our body language that this, ah, didn't go as planned."

Riley rubs a hand down her face, heedless of her full face of makeup. "You never really get a private moment, do you?"

He shrugs. "Sometimes. Usually in the palace."

"You're so Princess Jasmine."

He pretends to flip imaginary hair over his shoulder, and she laughs.

"Shall we, then?" He doesn't offer her his arm.

She does curtsy. "We shall."

They walk through the night, the sounds of the city filling the gap as they see how this new space between them will feel.


	2. Maxwell.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Riley, can we talk? Meet me on the hotel balcony when you get back tonight._  
>  -Maxwell
> 
>  **✨Riley🐾** (7:58pm): I'm on the balcony

Riley is looking out over the lights of New York City for the last little while.

She tries to feel some kind of way about that, but she's already done so much reflecting tonight, these past few weeks, months, year… The lights are pretty. That's all they need to be.

She isn't sure how long she's been staring out at them before familiar footsteps sound behind her. Her heartbeat kicks up, and she idly wonders, again, when exactly that started happening.

"Hey, Riley."

She turns, something inside her loosening at the sight of him. But Maxwell doesn't look back at her, not until he reaches the railing and rests his hands on the cold metal.

"I had to know what happened tonight.. And where it leaves _us."_ His eyes search her face, his expression carefully neutral, revealing nothing.

His movements, his words… It's all so deliberate.

This is important.

She drops any of their normal lightheaded banter, and instead says:

"So… we were right, Liam invited me out there to propose."

"Oh. That's…" His expression crashes to misery so fast it _hurts._ What's worse is as soon as he catches himself he immediately blanks over, like nothing was there after all.

She rushes to continue. "...But he didn't. I cut him off before he even started. And I was going to look like such an ass if that wasn't what he actually brought me out there for, but. I figured it was better a little embarrassed than risk him going through the whole thing, right?"

Maxwell has settled into looking confused and wary, and she realizes she still hasn't actually answered anything. Refocusing, she turns back out towards the lights.

"I told him I wasn't going to be able to give him my heart…" She looks back to Maxwell, gaze steady and sure. "Not when it already belongs to you."

His lips part in shock as he stares down at her.

"And I know that wasn't the plan, but I couldn't marry him like this. It wouldn't have been fair. Not to Liam, not to me… and not to you."

She falters. "That is, if…?"

She trails off, fascinated by the blush staining his cheeks.

"Wow. Riley, I…" He looks down, a small smile finally starting to form. "I guess I was hoping this could be more of a thing between us." He gestures between them. "Whatever 'this' turns out to be. But…" His gaze trails across her face, full of wonder. "...I wasn't sure what you'd do if Liam really proposed."

She spreads her arms. "Here's your answer."

They grin shyly at each other for a few seconds before it becomes too much and they look away, blushing like teenagers.

Riley breaks the silence first. "Is that why you've been holding back?"

He nods. "Most of it. I didn't want to…" he trails off.

"Hope?" she finishes softly.

He nods.

"Permission to hope granted," she says, still soft but with a teasing edge. She takes his hand, stepping closer. "So… what does this mean for us?"

"Whatever you want it to mean," he replies instantly. The breadth of that overwhelms her a little and she can only blink. Casual, serious? They both know she just turned down a king for him, but with how close he's held his cards, how is she supposed to know where on the scale this should go?

Then he's swinging her hand and grinning, scooting a little closer on the railing. "This could be our first date."

She laughs, relaxing. Whatever, they're still just Maxwell and Riley. They'll figure it out, they always do.

She rubs the back of his hand with her thumb. "I think a date has to be, like, an activity or something."

"Is that the rule?"

She shrugs. "I'd consult the manual, but… I never read it."

They're definitely closer than they were before. His shoulder brushes hers.

"There's a manual?"

His eyes are very blue.

She kisses him.

He responds like he was just waiting for her to start. It's short, almost chaste, yet when she pulls away, a pleasurable shiver goes through her. If each kiss is going to be like this, she's not sure she'll make it through.

Craving his reaction, she raises her eyes to his. His gaze is half lidded, the affection she sees there making her a little weak in the knees. She knows her face has to be a goofier sort of mirror.

She lets herself fall into him, and for a second he freezes up, but then his arms fold around her and he buries his face in her curls.

She presses her face to his shirt and breathes in the warm scent of him. It's a good thing she has him to lean on, because she feels a little dizzy with it. He smells amazing, warm and masculine, with something a little like Christmas, overlaid with… butter?

She giggles. "You smell like popcorn."

He chuckles, and she feels it rumble in his chest. "I was watching a movie. Trying to distract myself, I guess."

"Oh? What movie?"

He hesitates. "...You're going to laugh."

"I—" She stops. "Okay, I'm probably going to laugh. But I promise not to be mean about it."

"I accept your terms." She can hear the smile in his voice. "...Anastasia."

"What, the animated one?"

He nods.

She _does_ laugh, pulling back so she can properly look up at him. "Are you kidding me? That is so on the nose!" She gives him a gentle noogie, which may or may not just be an excuse to touch his hair. "How was that supposed to take your mind off things?"

"It did not!" He squeezes his arms around her waist. "See, this is why you're good to have around."

"Well, if you ever need help choosing a movie… Or watching one…" She taps him on the chest. "I happen to be great at both of those things."

"A woman of many talents, I like it." He pauses. "Maybe sometime… we could watch it together. Or, you know. Something else. Doesn't have to be—"

She looks up at him through her eyelashes. "I'm free tonight."

He stops, relaxing. "...Are you now?"

"I could be persuaded. " She steps back and out of his arms, grinning up at him expectantly. "One might even say it counts as an activity."

He looks bereft to have her gone for a moment, before comprehension dawns. Recovering smoothly, he holds out a hand. "Riley Brooks, would you like to watch a movie with me?"

She takes his hand with a giddy smile. "Maxwell, I would love to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't kiss Maxwell on the balcony, you get this instead:  
> 


End file.
